Earlier this year, I lost a friend, a brother. We actually both have the same last name—but I grew up in Oregon and he in Pennsylvania. Yet we both married into the same family, just six months apart. So, we are brother in-laws. Paul was an eloquent wordsmith. Last year, while challenged with life-threatening cancer, he wrote, “I have trouble with the thought of making a ‘Bucket List.’ This term projects the demise of one’s life and the desire to fill one’s life with hoped-for events before one ‘kicks the bucket’ and opportunities are lost. A bucket invites a downward gaze, the focus of a ‘Ladder List’ directs one’s in an upward direction.”

You may have a bucket list. But have you ever thought of a making a ladder list? If Paul still had an earthly address, he would be the first person I would ask to be a guest blogger. I love his values, his writing, his witty humor and so much more. In fact, Paul did some blogging for the famous Lehman’s Hardware store in tiny rural Kidron, Ohio where he taught high school for 30 years.

Here’s what my brother in-law Paul Gingerich said are the elements he would include on his ladder list:

Tangible acts of sacrifice for others

Supportive, relationally-focused activities that enhance family

Love for others

Generously giving life to those less fortunate

And…directing praise to God.

Paul went on to write, “My Ladder List has a ‘bottom-up’ kind of focus. It is open-ended and sacrificial. Its goal is to build up, restore and encourage. I give credit to the Apostle Paul for this upside down, ladder list perspective on the future. In Philippians 3:14, Paul highlights this inverted perspective. He says, ‘I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ The focus is upward and there is movement. I’m going to start writing my ladder list and keep looking up!” Love To All, –Paul

We live in a world where we are taught to be self-sufficient, to seek and demand the best for ourselves. But even before his cancer and transition to eternal life at age 59, Paul was climbing a different ladder than most career-focused men. Paul concentrated on serving others, supportive relationships and sharing generously. His two and a half year journey with cancer allowed him to put into text something he was already living. And for me–and thousands of others he has influenced–Paul challenged me to live for a ladder instead of a bucket.

QUESTION:What is on your Ladder List?Please share it in the comment section below!

I loved your ladder list blog, Dennis. My thought was that ladders go two ways, and the downward path of Jesus offers us a way of thinking, both of climbing up to higher planes, but of stepping down the rungs of service, identification, mutuality, co-humanity. And Paul was a challenge on all of the above.

I absolutely love the idea of the “ladder list” instead of the “bucket list”. I do have 3 main things on my “ladder list”. I would love the opportunity to do some sort of mission trip and have the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. I also would love to learn to play the piano and travel to Jerusalem and through Europe.

Hi Sandra, Maybe you can get involved in children’s ministry @ Cape Christian and apply to go on the team to the orphanage to do Vacation Bible School in Haiti next year. And, just so you know, we’ve scheduled another trip to Israel for Dec. 26, 2013 through Jan. 4, 2014.

Paul’s ladder list is what I already have been striving to do in my life. Sacrificial giving of time , talent, treasure to those in need, often anonymously. I love the thought of a ladder list, and that is what Ada and Tony Hostetler did in their lives. Ada was always saying that she wanted to go UP (heavenward).
Thank you for sharing Paul’s view, and could you please send me an Israel e-brochure? Thank you

Being a young pup of 49, I never put much thought into a “bucket list”, or Paul’s aptly re-named, “ladder list” . Paul’s ladder list struck me as uniquely re-defining by nature, it is much more than just a new title, it is a new way of thinking. His list was not about what he was going to do in the future, it was about what he was going to do now, and how that would shape is destiny and ultimately his legacy. It truly was not about doing things for himself, as most “bucket lists” are, it was about doing for others with loving sacrifice and therefore honoring God. I think I will start my “ladder list” now.

This was a wonderful tribute to a gentleman. Although I started at Lehman’s after Paul’s writing time, I love reading his material too. It shows his sweetness, sense of humor and abiding faith. So many folks remember him so well. I regret that I never had the chance to do that. Thank you for starting my day this way–it reminds me what’s really important.

Well said! I too embrace the idea of a “ladder list”. It rings true in my spirit and is especially well fitted in relationship to our Christian faith. I was never entirely comfortable with the concept of a “bucket list”, however the “ladder list” is inspiring!